James Leslie Mayne Amissah was born in Cape Coast in 1933.  He was born to Samuel George and Rebecca Bernice Amissah.  James attended the Government Boys School in Cape Coast and then Adisadel College.  He was made Head Prefect in 1955, since he exhibited, even at that young age, good leadership qualities.  He then entered the University of Ghana, Legon where he studied Economics and Social Sciences.  He was chosen whilst in Legon as one of the ushers for Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah on the night of the country’s independence.

As a public service he was in the diplomatic service in Ottawa, Canada, Geneva, Switzerland  (1972-1974) and Bonn, Germany (1980).  From 1985 to 1993, he was the Ambassador of Ghana to Japan, which post also covered Brunei, South Korea and Indonesia. This made him the longest serving ambassador and head of the African Mission in Japan.  He returned to Ghana in 1993 and served as Secretary to the then Head of State, Jerry John Rawlings.   He was made a Companion of the Order of the Volta in 2006,  recognizing his sterling work in public service and as a diplomat.  He had worked on history summits on behalf of the Organisation of African Unity in Ethiopia, taken on the role of Chief of Protocol, Office of Economic Affairs.

Reference: Wikipedia